Children’s Bath (Das Kinderbad)
Israhel van Meckenam (c.1440/5-1503), Children’s Bath (Das Kinderbad), engraving, c. 1480. Lehrs, Band IX, 478III – Hollstein III. In excellent condition, with small/thread margins all around, 4 1/4 x 5 3/4 inches, 11 x 13 cm.
Provenance:
Karl Ferdinand Friedrich von Nagler, Bayern and Berlin, 1770-1846 (Lugt 2529, stamp verso)
Kupferstichkabinett der Koniglichen Sammlung, Berlin (Lugt 1606, stamp verso)
Richard Fisher, Hill Top, Midhurst, 1809-1890 (Lugt 2204, stamp verso)
Adalbert Freiherr von Lanna, Prague, 1836-1909 (Lugt 2773, stamp verso); then sold at the auction of H.G. Gutekunst in Stuttgart, May 11, 1909, and described there as “Ausgezeichneter Abdruck von schonster Erhaltung und mit Randchen. Ausserst selten.”
Ritter Rudolf von Gutmann (Lugt 2770)
Albert Blum, Short Hills New Jersey and Zurich (Lugt 79/b, stamp verso).
A superb impression; an impression of this condition and quality is of the greatest rarity.
One of Israhel van Meckenem’s specialties was scenes of everyday life, including engravings of couples engaged in various activities. He often engraved an elaborate banderole around the figures, not including any printed material on the banderole but perhaps suggesting the observer supply some witty inscription inspired by the composition. Although it is a larger print than the couples subjects, and the composition more complex, Das Kinderbad appears to be created in this spirit, inviting the viewer to write a proverb or witticism in the blank banderole at the top.